5 Bollywood movies that were ahead of their time

Films are like human beings in certain ways. Like humans, they come with a life span. They are created, they live in the memories of people and eventually die. But with some films the case is reverse. They come alive years after they were released. Simply because at that time the audience wasn’t ready to accept and understand a particular subject. They may have failed at the box-office then. But through the years, they grew on the audience and slowly acquired cult status. We list down 5 such movies that would find relevance if released today.

1.Dil Se… (1998)

Director: Mani Ratnam

Dil Se was written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Amarkant Varma (Shah Rukh Khan) is a deceased army officer’s son. As a program executive for All India Radio, he travels all over to interview citizens to mark the 50th anniversary of Independence. On one of his trips, he meets and falls for an intriguing and mysterious woman, Meghna (Manisha Koirala). Besotted by her, he follows her all the way to Ladakh. He discovers that she’s part of a group of insurgents on a mission and that he can never have her. Heartbroken, Amar agrees to marry Preeti (Preity Zinta), a woman of his mother’s choice. Meanwhile, Meghna is chosen to lead a suicide mission during the Republic Day parade. When she runs into Amar again, their destinies intertwine. The dark and disturbing film clearly wasn’t for the audience of 1998. Film aficionados believe that if Dil Se… had released today, in times when insurgency is such a stark and recurrent truth, the box-office numbers would have been way higher.

2.No Smoking (2007)

Director: Anurag Kashyap

The neo-noir psychological thriller was written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. It featured John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Ranvir Shorey and Paresh Rawal. The story follows K (Abraham) a self-obsessed chain smoker, who agrees to kick his habit to save his marriage and visits a rehabilitation centre. But he gets caught in a tangle by Baba Bengali (Rawal), the man who guarantees he would make him quit. The film was unpalatable to the audience given its dark and unfamiliar storyline comprising elements of surrealism, horror and dark humour. Also, a film based entirely on smoking turned out to be a bit too much for the audience then.

3. That Girl In Yellow Boots (2011)

Director: Anurag Kashyap

That Girl In Yellow Boots was a thriller about Ruth (Kalki Koechlin), a British woman, who loses her sister to suicide. She comes to India in search for her father, an Indian. Without a work permit, desperation drives her to work at a massage parlour, where she offers both massages and ‘happy endings’. She also dates a drug addict Prashant (Prashant Prakash), who is both her saviour and tormentor. She finally finds her father, who’s following a religious cult. The film ends with a disillusioned Ruth hanging up her yellow boots and quitting her job as a masseur. Warped sexuality, skewed relationships and life bordering on the grey… The Girl In The Yellow Boots was an amorphous take on the human psyche and didn’t find many takers.

4.Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000)

Director: Aziz Mirza

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (PHBDHH) was a comedy-drama film released by Dreamz Unlimited. The film, directed by Aziz Mirza and starring Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, focussed on the media war being fought in TV newsrooms. Ajay Bakshi and Ria Banerjee are television reporters for rival news channels. They try to save a man, who has been fixed by politicians for the death of his brother. The satire didn’t find many takers given that it was an age of romantic films. But today, where media manipulation and corruption is an overpowering reality, this film, in retrospect seems to be prophetic. It was one of his first movies as a producer and its ‘complete disaster’ then had left SRK devastated. On the film’s 18th anniversary, he wrote on Twitter, “This one was special. It was a complete disaster and completely written off. Our failure made us, Aziz @iam_juhi & me stronger. Love PBDHH.”

5. Mera Naam Joker

Director : Raj Kapoor

Mera Naam Joker was Raj Kapoor’s biggest disaster, yet a film that remained closest to his heart. Through Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor tried to portray the irony in the life of a circus clown, where he must perform and make others laugh even though he may be shattered within. Also, for the first time, Indian audiences were confronted with a school teacher being the subject of her student’s infatuation. The audience simply couldn’t relate to the bold slant of the story as to the five-hour duration of the film. But the film’s music and performances made it a hit on the video and cable network.

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